Former Arsenal back Eboue diagnosed with HIV

Emmanuel Eboué will fly to England to have further tests after it was discovered the 34-year-old had contracted HIV, according to Goal Turkey.

Concerns over Eboué’s health were first raised on Sunday when the player’s agent, Tekin Birinci, took to social media to say: “Unfortunately [it] is true that we are facing some medical problems about Eboue. He will go to England… so we will know how serious it is.”

The report suggests that Eboué was diagnosed with the disease after completing a medical with Turkish Cypriot side Türk Ocağı Limasol this summer, the former Arsenal defender having been a free agent after a spell with Sunderland ended in March 2016.

Before joining Arsenal in 2005, Eboué had spent three years in Belgium with KSK Beveren. The Ivorian moved to the Belgian city of Beveren, which borders Antwerp and the Netherlands, after working up the ranks of ASEC Mimosas, a football team based in his native Côte d’Ivoire.

Eboué went on to make 215 appearances for Arsenal during his six-year spell in north London. Scoring 10 goals and assisting a further 20, Eboué become a cult-hero with the Gunners.

The right-back went on to have a four-year stint at Turkish giants Galatasaray, winning two Süper Lig titles as well as a Ziraat Türkiye Kupası (Turkish league cup).